My internship experience at the Chennai Center for China Studies has been nothing short of exhilarating. I started working with the organization on December 1st, 2018 and continue to work with them as my research requires me to do so. For a period of one month, I was a full-time intern, and had the opportunity to sit in on numerous meetings and organize events. During this period not only was I able to interact with the distinguished members of the community, but also learned the nitty-gritties of organizing an event, and making detailed reports and most of all, this internship provided me the valuable experience of understanding how a think tank works.
During my internship period, the Chennai Center for China Studies hosted multiple events such as a lecture discussion on the “Role of Foreign Capital in the Economic Transformation of Sri Lanka”, “Three Decades of India-China Science and Technology Cooperation: Trends and Prospects” and a lecture discussion on “China’s Growing Influence in International Lending and Differences Approach”. I also had the opportunity to discuss and engage with the dignitaries who presided the event such as Dr Maaike Okano Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute, Netherlands, Dr T.R. Govindarajan, Professor, CMI & IMSc (Emeritus), Mr. L.V Krishnan, Former Director of Safety Research Group, Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Mr. Rajaram Muthukrishnan, Investor and Director of Voice Snap, Chennai and Dr. A. S. Chandrabose, Senior Lecturer in Social Studies, Department of Social Studies, The Open University of Sri Lanka. I also was given the opportunity to present my research findings during the Monthly Meeting that was held on the 20th of December. This meeting was attended by all members and patrons of the C3S Community, and I had the opportunity of engaging with them all and gained some valuable insights on how I could further develop my paper.
In conclusion, this internship has helped me learn and grow in ways much more than I had imagined and hope to work with the organization post the completion of my internship as well.
